London Bridges

Chapter 8: Houseguest

"Tomlinson, you're late."

"Yeah," Louis says, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry, Bax, got a bit caught up at home."

"Anything to do with that editorial in the paper this morning?" Bax asks.

"Something like that," Louis says, taking off his shirt to reveal a black singlet and grabbing a wrench. "What are we working on today?"

"Got a special contract," Bax says. "Need to replace the transmission on a squad car, apparently their normal place is booked. Anyway, we do this right, we might be looking at a new regular client."

"Sweet," Louis says, laying back on the creeper and rolling under the truck.

"Nice lovebite, Tomlinson," Bax smirks, laughing when he hears Louis swear painfully and the wrench clatter.

"Thanks," Louis says, making Bax laugh even louder.

Louis works steadily for the next few hours. He's sweaty, and greasy, and his back is hurting a bit from leaning into the bonnet of the car, but the radio is blaring and his hands are steady, and Louis honestly loves all of it. He hears the muffled jingle of the shop's front door, Bax's call following soon after.

"Tommo, come here for a second."

Louis stands up straight, stretching his back as he throws his tools on the workbench beside him. He ruffles his hair, grimacing when he pulls his hand away and realizes he's now got grease in his hair. Grabbing a towel in a futile attempt to clean himself up a little, he heads to the front end of the shop.

"What's up?" Louis asks, hopping over the service counter instead of lifting the flap and going through like a civilized human being.

"You're gonna break your neck doing that one day," Bax scolds.

Louis shrugs dismissively. "If I wind up crippled in bed, Liam will give me sponge baths."

"You sure about that?"

Louis's attention snaps to the previously unnoticed customer at the sound of his voice, his mouth already pulling into a grin.

"Shouldn't you be in Bradford?"

"Shouldn't you be a desperate housewife by now?" Zayn responds.

Louis laughs, going to hug Zayn but instead just smudging some car grease on his cheek when the other lad pulls away in disgust.

"So what are you doing here? Does Liam know? How long are you staying? You are staying with us, yeah?"

"Bloody hell, Lou, take a breath," Bax says, exasperated by Louis's excitement.

Louis just sticks his tongue out at him, earning a fond eye roll and a middle finger. Sometimes Bax forgets he's the mature boss that he is.

"I haven't seen Liam yet," Zayn says, laughing at the two mechanics. "Dylan told me where you're working. Not sure how long I'm staying but if the invitation is there then yeah, kipping at your place would be great."

Louis catches on to the uncertainty of Zayn's plans, but he lets it go for the moment.

"Lou, why don't you go on your lunch break now," Bax says. "We're pretty slow, I can do some work on the truck. Bring me back a burger, yeah?"

"What about your cholesterol?" Louis asks.

"My cholesterol wants a burger, Tommo, quit being a pain in my arse."

Louis laughs, pulling his clean shirt back on and leading Zayn out the door. They head to a small diner a few blocks away.

"Your boss seems nice," Zayn says when Louis returns from washing up in the restroom. "I ordered you a coke."